Tilting floor-section.



C. E. GLSSNER.

TILTING FLOOR SECTION.

APPLICATON FILED APR.'23, i913.

PqtentedJ une 29, 1915.

Aet

"ran sin rien.

en.l tns n GLssNnit, or LINNTON, OREGON, Ass'IGNoR or ONE-HALF To JOHN c.

JONES, 0F lPORTLAND, OREGON.

Tinri'ld FLOOR-section.

lspeciiiction of Letters Patent.

Patented June 29,' lltlld.

Reputation `inea April 23, 1913. s'erialivmsaora To au what a may @mean-,-

at Linton, in' the county of Multnomah andi State of Gregori', have invented certain new" and Im rovxnentsin Tilting Floor- Sections, of w 'cli the following is a speciiication;

. This invention relates to tiltinglioor 'sections; and has for its object to provide a ilor' composed of sections'pivctally mounted in Sucht manner that the may be united together tol form 'a con -uou's oor surface, which sections maybe tilted to bring different faces uppermost. l

further object is" to provide such sections which may be ti'lted upon their. pivots to swing theirupper facesl into'v adifterent planei where they willV again be united to form a continuous floor.

A still further object is to provide a plurality ott floor which are polygonal in cross section andwlieh are pivoted to rotate upon their longitudinal axes, so that corresponding faces-of said sections may be broughtv to crmy a continuous floor; and further that eaclinof said floors' may be formed'uponl af dii'erent l I accomplish these 'an other objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accom'- paying. drawing; in which-# Figure 1 is -atransverse sectional view of the'ffoor sections united to forn'rahorizontal floor,- taken on theline A-B of F :ig-,3 and representedas a straight line. Fig., 2 is a longitudinal sectional View taken on the line C`-D' of Fig. 3 showing the main floor, with a section in place; and a balcony to which the sections maybe united. Fig7 3 is a plan of a iioor embodying my invention. Fig. 4 is a detail cfa worm gear mechanism for tilting the' sections upon their, pivots, and showin the ,eecentncally mounted end. Fig. 5 isa diaglarnmatic view representing the manner of determining the position of the eccentric bearing. v

Referring to the drawing in detail, 1 represents the horizontal face of each of tne, ioor sections, which are triangular in cross section, and which are united' together, to form the body of a floor for an auditorium, extending from; thebalcony front 2 to. the horizontal rostrum'. The horizontal floor, it will be noted, has an outer circular section 3 corresponding to the balcony.

The xed portion 3 of the horizontal loor, which encompasses' the tilting sections is provided beneath its inner edge with a series of columns or supports 6*, disposed at suitable intervals, and in which is mounted, upon a trunnion 4, each of said sections 1.

The rostrum, it will be understood, is provided with a series of bearings 8,' which rest upon a column or abutment 6b, and in each of them is mounted on a suitablev bearing 9 one of said sections. These mountingsl form an axis of rotation which is parallel to one face of the section while the other face is longitudinally inclined thereto. l

As seen in Fig. 4, the bearin l is fixed in the center of the larger triajgular end, thereby permitting the smallerllend of the section which is centrally,y mounted to rotate thereon ina manner to brin feither of its faces Hush with the rostrum'oor." The outer andl larger end is mounted eccentrically, upon thel bearing 4, at a point adjacent the face 1 of the fixed portion of the main iiobr, and at a previously determined point with reference to the lateral edges of the faces,l so that when the section is tilted through an angle of 120 degrees, itwilll carry the face l" to the plane of the balcony 2 to which it will be united to form a continuous lofr leading to the rostrum as indicated at n.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated the manner of determining the location of this bearing. Let abc' representan equilateral triangle whose upper line ab lis in the .plane of the balrcny,` and. line Lb parallel therewith represents a continuation of the main licor 3 and the' distance between said lines will represent the vertical distance between the main floor and 'the balcony, taken at random."

' e bisecting that line at right angles' will intersect the line ao at the desiredl point for the pivot 4, which will be determined by the. arcs fdrawn from :v and c respectively as a center. Swinging the triangle abc on the pivot 4, through an are of 120 degrees it Ywill assume the position jz/e, withv the line .ac taking the position of ym, which corresponds to the horizontal face of the secanda worm gear 14 .the inclined floor face tions' in Fig. 1, thus bringing the body of the floor, represented by these Hoor sections, from the plane of the balcony to the plane of the main Hoor.

f The horizontalface of each section car` ries a counterpoise 4 made preferably of concrete to counterbalance the weight of '.bring the face lb into line l with the balcony, the edge portion 13 Will engage the 'opposite face of the abutment to which it ymay be` secured in a similar manner.

1 To operate the sections a gear 10 will be secured upon one of the pivot shafts, as 9, having a crank 11 is mounted upon a support 12 to mesh therewith, and by' means' of which the section may be tilted upon its pivots through an arc of 120 degrees so as to bring itin to line with either of said ioors. It is obvious that opera chairs may be fixed in regular order vupon the face 1b, so that when the sections 'are adjusted to the balcony a continuous seated auditorium is provided, and by swinging the sections down, a horizontal hall floor isprovided; In this manner I have l providedv a series of tiltable floor sections fvvhich are shaped substantially as the frustum of a triangular pyramid, which sec- 4tions are adapted to fit neatly upon each other and Which unite in a neat joint with the frostrum and With the adjacent xed floor, thereby forming a circular fioor.

` It Will be observed that one of the faces of the triangular sectionsis not here used as ya floor face, but that the structure is so -shaped and modified as to rest upon the abutment 6.

The Hooi-.plan of Fig. 3 shows a fixed portion at each side with thetilting sections mounted intermediately. The Hoor may be formed upon a'coinplete circle or any portion thereof. .A fixed balcony With its floor 2, and rail 2" will bemade in conformity to the fixed horizontal floor. It is obvious, however, that in case a circular building is constructed there Will bejno fixed lateral portions. t

lIn adjusting the sections from the horizontal to the inclined position, the sections should beso moved that each one Will immediately follow the movement of the preceding section, so that as the preceding sections'wingslfrom its normal position it gives room for'the next section to swing on its axis; and they williall, thus successively move intoplace, in either direction."

' AsJ shown in Fig. 1 only a portion of a circle ybeingused, there is a fixed Wall at the initial point, which makes it necessary 1b and which acts as Will swing against the abutment to narrow the upper face of the first see tion, so that it may swing by the fixed por tions of the structure.

Having novi described my invention what 1. A tiltable floor section having a plurality of ioor faces, bearings formed at an incline with reference to one of said, faces, and means for tilting the sectiojii tot bring said4 faces into their respectiveloeieiipes.'

2. The combination in a AbuildingHaving a main partial floor and a secondlpartiab l ioor fixed above said main partialf'iioor,"of\

a tiltable section having a plurality of faces each adapted to form a section in one 'of said partial floors, and means for tilting said section. to bring each of its faces. into l the'plane of its correspondingpartial .'iioor. 3.-'The combination in a building having l a main floor about its outer portion and a balcony-conforming thereto, yabove it, 4of, a

fioor section having a plurality of longitudinal faces each adaptedto forma section" varylng 'the plane of each `face as it `comes into the floor line. l

5. A fioor comprising a plurality of sec,- tions, each having substantially the shape of the -frustum of a triangular pyramid,

means for tilting the sections on their supports to bring corresponding faces thereof into the ioor line and varying the relative plane of each face as it comes into the floor lne.

6. The combination in a circular building having an inclined balcony Hoor and a corresponding horizontal main floor with an .intermediate portion comprising a plurality of sections `each having substantiallyy the shape of the frustum of a triangular pyramid' and each fitting neatly upon the other and upon the contiguous end portions .of

the` floor, each section beingmounted ec-4 centrically at the rear end' with one` facel in line with the main floor 'and another face adapted to be swunginto line withl the bal` cony `floor, and the other end mounted centrally, and means for swinging the seotionsv on their bearings.`

7. The combination' in a circular building having an inclined balcony 'floor and a ycorresponding horizontal main Hoor with an intermediate portion comprising a lplurality of sections each having substantially theA shape of the frustum of a triangular pyramid and each iitting neatiy upon the other and upon the contiguous end portions of the floor, each section being mounted eccentrically at the rear end With one face in line with the main floor and another face adapted to be swung into line with the balcony ioor, and the other end mounted centrally, means for, swinging the sections on.r their bearings and a longitudinal support positioned centrally beneath each section.

8. The combination in 'a circular building having an inclined balcony floor and a corresponding horizontal main floor with an intermediate portion comprising a plurality of sections each having substantially the shape of the frustum of a triangular pyramid and each fitting neatly upon the other and upon the contiguous end portions of the floor each section being -Inounted eccentrically at the rear end with one face in line with the main floor and another face adapted to be swung into line with the balcony Hoor, and the other end mounted centrally, means for swinging the sections on their bearings, a counterpoise to balance each section, and means for securing each section in position.

Inl testimony whereofl I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES E. GLESSNER1 Witnesses:

E. E. HEGKBERT, HAZEL A. ARMsTRoN 

